Climate Resilient Development

CLIMATE-RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT
A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING

AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE
MARCH 2014
This report has been prepared for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the Climate
Change Resilient Development Task Order No. AID-OAA-TO-11-00040, under The Integrated Water and Coastal
Resources Management Indefinite Quantity Contract (WATER IQC II) Contract No. AID-EPP-I-00-04-00024.
Engility Corporation Contact:
Glen Anderson, Chief of Party, Glen.Anderson@engilitycorp.com
Engility Corporation
1211 Connecticut Ave., NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
Contact: USAID Global Climate Change Office, climatechange@usaid.gov
Cover Photos:
Farmers in southern Mali listening to radio weather bulletins. From: Francesco Fiondella, IRI
Boats in a harbor in Nepal. From: Michael Cote, Engility Corporation
A farmer from Honduras. From: USAID
Women working in a rice paddy. From: Jon Anderson, Engility Corporation
A young person drinking water. From: Ahmed Waheed, Egypt Geographic and Freelancer Environmental Photographer
Farmer in Mafoota Village, Jamaica. From: Francesco Fiondella, IRI
CLIMATE-RESILIENT
DEVELOPMENT:
A FRAMEWORK FOR
UNDERSTANDING
AND ADDRESSING
CLIMATE CHANGE
Prepared for:
United States Agency for International Development
Global Climate Change Office, Climate Change Resilient Development Project
Washington, DC
Contact: USAID Global Climate Change Office, climatechange@usaid.gov
March 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACRONYMS.................................................................................................................... VII
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................. IX
PREFACE .......................................................................................................................... XI
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................. XIII
1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Why Does Climate Change Matter in Countries with Critical Development
Challenges? ............................................................................................................................................ 1
1.2 What Is Different about Climate-Resilient Development? ......................................................... 2
1.3 How Does this Framework Relate to Other USAID Climate Change Guidance?............... 4
1.4 Who Should Use this Framework? .................................................................................................. 7
2. THE FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................... 8
2.1 Scope ....................................................................................................................................................... 9
2.1.1 Frame the Planning Process .............................................................................................10
2.1.2 Identify Climate and Non-Climate Stressors ...............................................................14
2.2 A
ssess .................................................................................................................................................... 15
2.3 Design.................................................................................................................................................... 17
2.3.1 Identify Adaptation Options.............................................................................................17
2.3.2 Select Criteria, Analyze Options, and Select a Course of Action ..........................20
2.4 Implement and Manage......................................................................................................................23
2.5 Evaluate and Adjust ............................................................................................................................ 23
3. NEXT STEPS ........................................................................................................ 25
APPENDIX A – GLOSSARY .......................................................................................... 26
APPENDIX B – SAMPLE DIRECT AND INDIRECT CLIMATE IMPACTS BY
SECTOR ................................................................................................................ 29
CLIMATE-RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT:
A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE V
ACRONYMS
CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy

CIA Central Intelligence Agency
DFID United Kingdom Department for International Development
FEWS NET Famine Early Warning Systems Network
IFC International Finance Corporation
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
NAP National Adaptation Plan
NAPA National Adaptation Programme of Action
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
USAID United States Agency for International Development
A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE VII
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This framework was produced under the guidance of Jonathan Cook, Jennifer Frankel-Reed, and John
Furlow of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Global Climate Change
Office, with support from Jason Vogel of Stratus Consulting and Yoon Kim and Glen Anderson of Engility
under the Water II IQC Climate Change Resilient Development Task Order managed by IRG (IQC Contract
No. AID EPP-1-00-04-00024, Task Order No. AID-OAA-TO-11-00040).
We would like to acknowledge Rolf Anderson, Alex Apotsos, Kit Batten, Tegan Blaine, Nora Ferm, Andre
Mershon, Jami Montgomery, Christine Pendzich, Kyle Rearick, and Sezin Tokar of USAID, as well as Matt
Sommerville of Tetra Tech, for their careful reviews of this document. We would also like to thank USAID
staff around the world who helped develop and test the ideas in this framework through trainings, workshops,
and other activities.
A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE IX
PREFACE
The USAID Global Climate Change Office is pleased to release this framework for understanding and
addressing the risks of climate change for development. This framework updates the approach presented in
2007 in USAID’s Adapting to Climate Variability and Change: A Guidance Manual for Development Planning.
This framework promotes a “development-first” approach, helping to achieve development goals despite
climate change. It walks readers through a process of understanding development goals in a given country or
community, the inputs and conditions necessary to achieve those goals, and the stresses – climate and non-
climate – that can impede progress toward those goals, in order to then identify priority adaptation measures.
Changes to the climate system are already affecting the conditions under which developing country
economies must operate; in many places those conditions will continue to change. Our goal is to offer a
simplified approach to helping decision-makers at all levels understand the risks and opportunities that
climate change may pose, and address them in ways that enable development to continue despite a changing
climate.
In developing the framework, we worked under the following assumptions:
 Climate variability already impacts economic sectors in developing countries and addressing climate
variability and change is important for the long-term success of development assistance
 Stakeholder involvement is critical – local knowledge and memory of climate changes over time can help
identify adaptation options; building stakeholder ownership of project design and implementation is key
to project success
 Stakeholders will know more about their development priorities than we will (or than a tool can
anticipate); decision-makers are already dealing with uncertainty such as weather and markets
 The methods employed should be simple enough to meet needs in the field, but provide rigorous enough
information on which to base decisions
 We should provide a suite of resources at different levels of detail so that different audiences can find the
resource that is right for their needs
We hope you will find this framework to be useful. We view it as a “living document” that we will update
from time to time. We also welcome case studies that can be added to the updated versions. We encourage
you to send comments on the framework to climatechange@usaid.gov.
Most importantly, we hope this framework will help developing countries better understand and adapt to the
challenges of a changing climate.
A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE XI
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Climate change is one of many challenges developing countries must recognize and respond to in planning
for the future. By increasing risks to human health, welfare, and ecosystems, climate impacts can threaten
primary development goals such as reducing poverty, increasing access to education, improving child health,
combating disease, or managing natural resources sustainably.
This framework facilitates the systematic inclusion of climate considerations in development decision-making.
The framework’s objective is to support the development process by assisting development practitioners in
identifying, evaluating, selecting, implementing, and adjusting actions to reduce climate vulnerabilities and
improve development outcomes. The climate-resilient development framework described here is designed to
promote actions that ensure progress toward development goals by including climate stressors, both climate
variability and climate change.
The framework focuses on how climate can be incorporated into existing planning and decision-making
processes – also known as mainstreaming – and focuses on achieving development goals – which we call a
“development-first” approach. This framework supplements and builds upon the United States Agency for
International Development project cycle management framework with additional tools designed to simplify
the challenge of understanding how climate impacts can affect development strategies, programs, and projects.
The climate-resilient development framework provides a five-stage, systematic process for understanding and
prioritizing current and projected climate-related vulnerabilities. The first three stages of this framework differ
more from conventional development practice than the last two stages, and so the framework spends more
time discussing the first three stages. The five stages are:
 Scope, the first stage in the framework, establishes the development context and assesses vulnerability at
an appropriate level of detail to support initial cursory analysis. It includes understanding development
goals, identifying the key inputs and enabling conditions for meeting those goals, and identifying climate
and non-climate stressors that may put key inputs at risk and undermine the enabling environment,
compromising the development goals. It is also important to determine what decisions are being made in
the development context, their timeframe, and whether they can be influenced by this process. This
provides context for all subsequent stages of the framework.
 Assess, the second stage in the framework, conducts more detailed assessment of the vulnerability of key
inputs and the broader system identified in the scoping stage to climate and non-climate stressors. This
stage also evaluates the capacities of stakeholders and implementing partners to deal with potential impacts
or take advantage of opportunities. Assessment provides information and needs to be carried out at the
level of detail necessary to support strategy, program, or project design. It should integrate climate
information that appropriately aligns with the scope for action.
 Design, the third stage in the framework, focuses on identifying, evaluating, and selecting actions to
reduce the impact of climate and non-climate stressors. Climate stressors are explicitly considered in order
to design actions that reduce vulnerability and support climate-resilient development. This can include
actions that minimize potential damage (e.g., increase flood protection), take advantage of opportunities
(e.g., capture and store rainfall where average precipitation may increase), or cope with unavoidable impacts
A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE XIII
(e.g., by speeding recovery or spreading risk through insurance programs). The design stage should include
strategic consideration of the potential for impact.
 Implement and Manage, the fourth stage in the framework, puts the actions selected in the design stage
into practice. Because addressing climate stressors does not fundamentally alter the nature or challenges of
implementation, development practitioners should build upon established practices. However, in addition
to monitoring the performance of actions, it will also be necessary to monitor climate change and
variability.
 Evaluate and Adjust, the fifth stage in the framework, involves analyzing implementation progress and
adjusting the strategy, program, or project as needed or providing additional support to improve
performance. Evaluation is especially important to assess and respond to changing climate conditions and
to incorporate changes in climate knowledge. Additional efforts may be warranted to ensure that climate
stressors are taken into account during this stage in order to adjust development initiatives appropriately.
Climate-resilient development is about adding considerations of climate variability and climate change to
development decision-making in order to ensure that progress toward development goals now includes
consideration of climate impacts.
XIV A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 WHY DOES CLIMATE CHANGE MATTER IN COUNTRIES

WITH CRITICAL DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES?
Developing countries already confront many challenges to improving their economies and the lives of their
citizens. In a country where children suffer from malnutrition and disease or where there is inadequate clean
drinking water or a lack of sanitation facilities, why pay attention to climate change?1 The answer to this
question is threefold: (1) climate change can pose risks to meeting many development goals, such as the
provision of sufficient, clean water; (2) considering climate change can enhance the sustainability of benefits
provided by development strategies, programs, and projects as well as bring alternative development
approaches to light; and (3) considering climate change presents an opportunity to address development
challenges, including risks from current climate variability, with a fresh perspective.
Climate change will impact human health, agriculture, urban development, and many other sectors. Increases
in temperature and changes in precipitation patterns are expected to directly and significantly affect crop
yields for rain-fed agriculture, with subsequent impacts on food security and livelihoods. Increases in
temperature and changes in the frequency and intensity of rainfall are expected to shift the geographic range
and incidence of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. Anticipated increases in flooding
can limit economic growth by destroying infrastructure and property in vulnerable areas. Sea level rise can
harm vital coastal ecosystems, increase damages from storm surges, and make coastal freshwater aquifers
more saline. These changes in climate can exacerbate existing non-climate stressors such as deforestation,
migration and population growth, and increasing demands for water.
Such climate change impacts can put development goals, such as increasing the rate of economic growth,
reducing poverty, improving access to education, bettering child health, combating disease, and sustaining the
environment, at risk. These development goals should guide climate change adaptation decisions. To make
1. For definitions of “climate change” and other key terms used in this framework, refer to Appendix A.
A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE 1
the best use of limited resources to support development over the long-term, climate stressors need to be
identified and assessed when selecting actions to include in a development strategy. This framework facilitates
the systematic inclusion of climate considerations in development planning and implementation.
Readers may notice that there is a significant overlap between addressing vulnerability to climate variability
(i.e., current climate) and vulnerability to climate change (i.e., future climate). Many development initiatives
are vulnerable to current climate stressors, such as droughts, floods, and cyclones. Climate change may already
be increasing those vulnerabilities and may further increase them in the future. The phrase “climate impacts”
is used throughout this document to refer both to the impacts of current climate variability as well as projected
climate change.
Readers may also note that many of the adaptation options envisioned in the discussions that follow are “no-
regrets” options (i.e., they make sense based on current climate alone and are further justified when climate
change is considered). Such options may be sufficient to adapt to climate change in coming years and decades.
However, over the longer-term, very significant changes in climate are expected. These changes may require
much more substantial adaptations than no-regrets approaches alone. In planning for climate change, it is
very important to keep this in mind and allow for significant adaptations to be planned for and implemented,
especially over longer timeframes.
1.2 WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT CLIMATE-RESILIENT

DEVELOPMENT?
Climate-resilient development means ensuring that people, communities, businesses, and other organizations
are able to cope with current climate variability as well as adapt to future climate change, preserving
development gains, and minimizing damages. Climate-resilient development is about adding consideration of
climate impacts and opportunities to development decision-making in order to improve development
outcomes, rather than implementing development activities in a completely new way. Climate risks cannot be
eliminated, but negative impacts on people and economies can be reduced or managed. Climate-resilient
development helps minimize the costs and consequences of climate impacts so they do not hinder progress
toward development goals.
In general, climate-resilient development differs from traditional development in the following ways:
 Looks forward and plans for the future. Climate change impacts are being felt today, and will continue
for centuries to come. Climate change is causing shifts in weather beyond historical experience in many
places and the past may no longer be a good predictor for the future. Development practitioners should
identify the climate challenges ahead and relate them to current challenges of climate variability.
 Identifies climate stressors and utilizes appropriate climate information. Climate stressors should be
taken explicitly into account in development planning. Relevant information that aligns with the nature and
timescale of your operating environment should be used, ranging from observed trends to modeled
projections. For short-term activities, like agricultural extension, information on the next growing season is
most relevant. For long-lived infrastructure investments, 50- to 100-year estimations – covering the life of
the investment – will be more useful.
 Reduces vulnerability to climate stressors. Climate-resilient development must effectively reduce harm
caused by climate change. That requires an understanding of what makes someone or something
vulnerable, and taking actions to reduce those vulnerabilities. Actions that may decrease vulnerabilities
include helping people become better equipped to prepare for or adjust to stressors, shifting locations or
2 A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE
fortifying high-value areas to reduce exposure to stressors, or changing what people depend upon so they
are less sensitive to those stressors.
 Promotes flexibility and robustness. Despite great advances in science, climate change impacts are
uncertain and will remain so. The continuous changes and occasional surprises of political and economic
systems are familiar to development practitioners; the climate system similarly defies precise forecasts.
Embedding flexibility or robustness into development activities involves employing multiple approaches to
managing risk, favoring choices that still generate benefits if climate changes to a greater or lesser extent,
and managing risk in an adaptive manner.
 Continues over time as the needs of countries and communities evolve and climate stressors
change. Adaptation is necessarily a continuous process rather than a one-time action because the climate
will continue to change, new information about climate stressors will become available and should be
integrated into responses, new response options will emerge, and we will learn what works well and what
can be improved.
There are numerous guidance documents covering climate change adaptation, and several organizations have
used the idea of a “climate lens” to communicate that development goals and programs need to be viewed
differently in light of climate change. In a 2009 document that summarized the literature and experiences of
donors and international nongovernmental organizations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) describes a climate lens as a tool to examine a strategy, policy, plan, program, or
regulation by considering:
1. The extent to which a measure under consideration could be vulnerable to risks arising from climate
variability and change
2. The extent to which climate change risks have been taken into consideration in the course of the
formulation of this measure
3. The extent to which it could increase vulnerability, leading to maladaptation or, conversely, miss important
opportunities arising from climate change
4. For pre-existing strategies, policies, plans, and programs that are being revised, determine amendments that
might be warranted in order to address climate risks and opportunities2
Different institutions have employed a range of approaches to assess these considerations and to integrate
climate resilience into their work based on the results. Many approaches begin with climate data, using future
projections as the starting point for evaluating risks and opportunities. Climate information is an essential
input to climate-resilient development, but a data-first approach has proven to have some drawbacks:
(1) climate affects many sectors, so such an approach can be overly broad and not provide a strategic focus
toward priority areas of existing social, economic, and environmental needs; (2) it can create a mismatch
between the timeframe of climate projections (often 2050s, 2080s, or 2100s) and policy, planning, and
management timeframes (often shorter); (3) it can give uncertainty too prominent a role when climate models
disagree (e.g., on the direction of change in precipitation); and (4) the information generated may not be
policy-relevant or actionable because it was not developed to inform a specific decision.
2. OECD. 2009. Integrating Climate Change Adaptation into Development Co-operation. OECD. Paris, France. p. 79.
These limitations will be familiar to many groups working on adaptation. For instance, according to the
Independent Evaluation Group’s 2013 Adapting to Climate Change: Assessing the World Bank Group Experience,
Phase III:
“Downscaled climate models have so far proven to be of limited operational use for
planning at the Bank Group. …Analytic projects at both IFC [International Finance
Corporation] and the World Bank have done [climate modeling], often innovatively.
For the most part, these exercises have yielded such a wide span of projections that
their authors have defaulted to “no-regret” recommendations that are robust to
climate outcomes.”3
This is consistent with the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) own experience,
which has shown that a more successful approach begins with understanding development priorities, current
stressors, and vulnerabilities, and then bringing climate impacts into focus over relevant timescales to
understand current and future risks and identify priorities for action – a “development-first” approach. This
approach requires climate information, but only the information that is going to increase understanding of
priority sectors or regions and lead to more informed planning and decision-making, which the framework
described below facilitates.
The process of working with stakeholders to identify which sectors to focus on helps identify additional
information needs. Long-term climate information is relevant to certain but not all activities – decisions
around agriculture occur on shorter timescales than those around infrastructure. Stakeholders adopt this
approach because they understand how current climate stressors affect their development objectives. They
can begin to identify vulnerabilities and adaptation needs without needing a comprehensive understanding of
climate models. Climate modeling also comes at a financial cost, so wisely utilizing resources for assessment
can leave more money for taking action.
This framework reflects these lessons learned and presents a practical, participatory, and cost-effective
approach to climate-resilient development.
1.3 HOW DOES THIS FRAMEWORK RELATE TO OTHER USAID

CLIMATE CHANGE GUIDANCE?
In 2007, USAID’s Global Climate Change Team issued Adapting to Climate Variability and Change: A Guidance
Manual for Development Planning to help development practitioners determine whether a new or existing project
is vulnerable to climate stressors and, if so, how to identify, assess, and select actions to reduce vulnerability.
The USAID vulnerability and adaptation approach described in the 2007 document focused at the project
level. This approach reflected several realities within USAID at the time: first, USAID felt there was an
opportunity to fill a gap with guidance at the project level; and second, there was very little dedicated funding
for adaptation, so adaptation work would have to be incorporated into other development projects. At that
time, most donors, including USAID, were just beginning to grapple with how to address climate change, and
there was a sense that many of the projects being developed in other sectors were vulnerable to climate
stressors.
3. Independent Evaluation Group. 2013. Adapting to Climate Change: Assessing the World Bank Group Experience.
Phase III. Independent Evaluation Group. Washington, DC. p. 104.
In 2010, USAID began programming substantial resources specifically dedicated to climate change adaptation.
Based on lessons learned in applying the original guidance, and this new reality of having sufficient funds for
dedicated adaptation programs, USAID recognized a need to revise its adaptation guidance to inform the
design of new projects and programs. This gives staff the latitude to integrate adaptation into a broader range
of development strategies, programs, and specific projects. We have developed this approach through
applications in St. Lucia, Barbados, the Philippines, Jamaica, Tanzania, West Africa, Nepal, and Peru.
The framework proposed in this document recommends beginning with the development outcomes a
country, community, or USAID Mission hopes to achieve and assessing how climate change may affect the
achievement of those goals. We call this a “development-first” approach to climate change adaptation.
Rather than treat adaptation as a unique aspect of development, creating an entirely new or parallel set of
processes, this framework incorporates consideration of climate stressors into existing processes – a process
typically known as mainstreaming. To mainstream climate considerations into development planning, certain
steps are integrated into the existing project cycle or planning process (see Exhibit 1).
EXHIBIT 1. USAID’S CLIMATE-RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK.
Not all development processes follow the generic project cycle exactly, so this framework has been structured
to enable development practitioners to pick and choose useful elements from the framework, depending on
their relevance to the practitioners’ role in the development process.
In addition to this framework for climate-resilient development, USAID is producing several companion
documents that provide guidance on specific issues and sectors. The vulnerability assessment annex focuses
in greater detail on how to analyze climate impacts in the assess stage. The evaluating adaptation options
annex elaborates on the design stage of the framework. The water annex and coastal annex are sector-specific
applications of the general framework proposed here. The governance annex and the marginal populations
annex were developed because these two issues are considered critical for climate-resilient development. The
climate change and conflict annex considers the relationship between climate and non-climate stressors that
can lead to or exacerbate conflict and security challenges. These documents are further summarized in
Exhibit 2.
EXHIBIT 2. COMPANION DOCUMENTS TO THE USAID CLIMATE-RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT

FRAMEWORK.
Title Description
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: An Describes a process and good practices for conducting a
Annex to the USAID Climate-Resilient climate change vulnerability assessment.
Development Framework
Evaluating Adaptation Options: An Annex to the Describes an approach for evaluating adaptation action
USAID Climate-Resilient Development Framework alternatives to ascertain whether an adaptation option or
suite of options is likely to be a sound choice for a particular
circumstance and makes sense for sustaining and supporting
climate-resilient development.
Climate Change and Water: An Annex to the Summarizes the potential impacts of key non-climate and
USAID Climate-Resilient Development Framework climate stressors on water resources, provides a set of
principles to inform adaptation in the water sector, and
describes adaptation actions that can be used to improve
water-sector resilience to climate impacts.
Climate Change and Coastal Zones: An Annex to Summarizes the potential impacts of key non-climate and
the USAID Climate-Resilient Development climate stressors on coastal zones, provides a set of
Framework principles to inform coastal adaptation, and describes
adaptation actions that can be used to improve coastal
resilience to climate impacts.
Governing for Resilience: An Annex to the USAID Explains where and how governance considerations fit into
Climate-Resilient Development Framework the climate-resilient development framework, and lays out a
process for identifying governance barriers and opportunities.
Working with Marginal Populations: An Annex to Discusses factors that contribute to differences in
the USAID Climate-Resilient Development vulnerability, provides guidelines to inform consideration of
Framework these differences in the climate-resilient development
framework, and highlights entry points for integrating these
considerations.
Climate Change and Conflict: An Annex to the Provides guidelines to inform planning, design, and
USAID Climate-Resilient Development Framework implementation of development programs in which climate
change and conflict may interact.
1.4 WHO SHOULD USE THIS FRAMEWORK?
This framework for climate-resilient development has been written for a broad audience of development
practitioners, adaptation practitioners, city planners, resource managers, and other decision-makers in national,
regional, and local government agencies. A primary audience is USAID staff, both those dealing with
dedicated adaptation funding as well as those programming sector investments that are likely to be affected
by climate change (e.g., food security, health, water, disaster risk reduction, governance, biodiversity). A
second primary audience is USAID’s implementing partners, including in-country development practitioners
and project proponents. This framework complements USAID’s 2012–2016 Climate Change and
Development Strategy, which identifies adaptation as one of USAID’s three strategic objectives on climate
change.4
The framework presented here is flexible enough to be used over a wide range of geographic scales,
jurisdictional levels, and development sectors. It is intended to provide input to or complement the analyses
normally undertaken in the course of development strategy, program, and project design. For development
practitioners not primarily focused on adaptation, the framework can be used to identify and address climate
stressors that may affect broader development goals. For those involved explicitly with adaptation activities,
the framework ensures that initiatives support priority development goals and consider important linkages
between climate and non-climate stressors.
4. USAID has prepared internal guidance that accompanies this strategy to help USAID Mission and Bureau staff
account for climate concerns in USAID development programming.
2. THE FRAMEWORK
The climate-resilient development framework describes the elements that combine to produce desired
development outcomes, the interactions between these elements, and the process that is followed to plan,
implement, monitor, and evaluate strategies, plans, programs, or projects. The key difference with a
traditional development planning framework is the explicit consideration of climate stressors that can affect
the attainment of development objectives. Climate stressors add an additional degree of complexity to
development planning through their interactions with other elements of a system.
The climate-resilient development framework takes a “development-first” approach and is consistent with the
traditional project cycle. The framework lays out a stepwise process to scope, assess, design,
implement/manage, and evaluate/adjust actions required to achieve development goals. These five stages are
summarized below. Subsequent sections provide additional details on the types of tasks that development
planners will undertake to deal with climate considerations, and briefly describe some of the important
interactions between climate stressors and other elements at each stage of the process.
 Scope – This stage establishes the development context and assesses vulnerability at an appropriate level
of detail to support initial planning. It includes understanding development goals, identifying the key inputs
and enabling conditions for meeting those goals, and identifying climate and non-climate stressors that may
put key inputs at risk and undermine the enabling environment, compromising the overall development
goals. It is also important to determine what decisions are being made, their timeframe, and whether they
can be influenced by this process. This provides the context for all subsequent stages of the framework.
 Assess – This stage involves carrying out more detailed assessment of the vulnerability of key inputs
and/or the system identified in the scoping stage to climate and non-climate stressors, as well as the
capacities of stakeholders and implementing partners to deal with potential impacts or take advantage of
opportunities. The assessment should provide actionable information, so it needs to be carried out at the
level of detail necessary to support strategy, program, or project design, and it should integrate climate
information that appropriately aligns with the scope for action.
 Design – This stage focuses on identifying, evaluating, and selecting actions to reduce the impact of
climate and non-climate stressors. Climate stressors are explicitly considered in order to design actions that
reduce vulnerability and support climate-resilient development. This can include actions that minimize
potential damage (e.g., increase flood protection), take advantage of opportunities (e.g., capture and store
rainfall where average precipitation amounts may increase), or cope with unavoidable impacts (e.g., by
speeding recovery or spreading risk through insurance programs). The design stage should include strategic
consideration of the potential for impacts.
 Implement and Manage – This stage puts the actions selected in the design stage into practice. Because
addressing climate stressors does not fundamentally alter the nature or challenges of implementation,
development practitioners should build upon established practices. Climate change and variability
introduce a new dimension into the monitoring of implementation progress.
 Evaluate and Adjust – This stage involves analyzing implementation progress and adjusting the strategy,
program, or project as needed or providing additional support to improve performance. While this stage is
also similar to conventional development practice, evaluation is especially important to assess and respond
to changing climate conditions and to incorporate changes in climate knowledge. Additional efforts may be
warranted to ensure that climate stressors are specifically taken into account during this stage in order to
adjust development initiatives appropriately.
The first three stages of this process are described here in considerable detail, as they are largely what
distinguish climate-resilient development from conventional development. Each of these stages is
accompanied by boxes that provide an example from activities in Jamaica and the Philippines with which
USAID has been involved.5 Less time is spent on the final two stages because they are not fundamentally
different from traditional development practice and are discussed at length elsewhere.
The following sections also focus primarily on climate considerations within the framework. We do not focus
on non-climate considerations because development practitioners have extensive experience addressing the
non-climate aspects of development. We focus on climate because climate stressors have rarely been
consistently or systematically integrated into development decision-making.
2.1 SCOPE
Climate is likely to affect a broad swath of the economy and society in a given country.
Trying to assess everything that could be affected would be an overwhelming and time-
consuming task. We recommend that practitioners focus on issues that are important to
development and likely to be affected by climate. The scoping stage is the typical starting
point for strategy, program, or project planning because it is directed toward focusing
your efforts and investments on high-priority issues. Aligning those efforts and investments with host country
development priorities can also help to build host country buy-in and support. In the scoping stage we will:
 Frame the planning process by identifying the development goals important to the country, community, or
sector you are working with; and identify inputs and enabling conditions necessary to achieve those
development goals
 Consider the impacts of climate and non-climate stressors on those inputs, and consider the needs and
opportunities for addressing the various stresses affecting inputs and undermining development
These scoping tasks are described in Sections 2.1.1–2.1.2. Each section provides a brief description of how a
development practitioner should approach each scoping task.
5. USAID. 2012. Climate Change: Towards the Development of a Policy Framework for Jamaica. USAID. Washington,
DC. Available: http://www.usaid.gov/climate/jamaica-climate-workshop-report.
THE CLIMATE-RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT
FRAMEWORK IN PRACTICE IN JAMAICA

In 2012, the Government of Jamaica asked USAID
to assist with the development of a new national
climate change policy. Jamaica’s Ministry of Water,
Land, Environment, and Climate Change, with help
from USAID, convened a stakeholder workshop
entitled Climate Change: Toward the Development of a
Policy Framework for Jamaica in Kingston on July 26
and 27, 2012. Participants included representatives
from multiple government ministries, the private
sector, and civil society.
The objectives of the workshop were to (1) begin to
develop a national climate change policy framework
for Jamaica, (2) create inter-ministerial interest in
and ownership of the policy, and (3) facilitate
consideration of the cross-sectoral impacts of
climate change.
2.1.1 FRAME THE PLANNING PROCESS

Our first task is to frame the planning process by identifying relevant development goal(s) such as sustainable
livelihoods or improved human health, as well as the critical requirements needed to meet these goals. Some
of these are inputs, such as water or labor, while others are best described in terms of enabling conditions,
such as laws, regulations, and policies.
Development goals can be identified from existing national development frameworks as well as climate
change strategies, policies, and plans. See Exhibit 3 for some potential sources of information. These sources
provide an overview of a country’s development priorities that adaptation efforts should support, as well as
the economic, political, institutional, and social contexts that frame all climate-resilient development efforts.
Analyzing these sources can serve as the sole means of identifying development priorities when resources are
limited, but we generally recommend making stakeholder engagement an integral part of this process. It may
also be important to consider whether there is a role for climate considerations to play in prioritizing among
multiple development goals.6
6. For example, while food security may be a priority development goal, increasing local agricultural productivity may
not be feasible in already marginal lands under projected climate change. In such a situation it might be important to
consider alternative development goals, such as diversifying livelihoods by attracting industry or tourism to increase
community wealth and enable greater importation of food.
EXHIBIT 3. SELECTED INFORMATION SOURCES OF USE IN THE SCOPE STAGE.
Type of information Source and description
Development frameworks
USAID partner country  USAID Country Development Cooperation Strategies (CDCSs).
priorities (http://www.usaid.gov/results-and-data/planning/country-strategies-cdcs)
National development needs  Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs): Priority development goals, key
and investment areas limitations and challenges, policies and strategies, costs of achieving goals.
(http://www.imf.org/external/np/prsp/prsp.aspx)
National economic, political,  Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Fact Book: Recent data by country.
social, and demographic data (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/)
National statistics on  ND-GAIN Index. (http://index.gain.org/)
economy and climate
stressors
Climate change strategies, policies, and plans
Climate data and projections,  National Communications submitted to the United Nations Framework
assessments of vulnerability, Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): Country context, broad priority
and adaptation needs, development and climate goals, overviews of key sectors, historical climate
priorities, and options by conditions, projected climate changes and sectoral impacts, potential priority
country adaptation measures, and limitations, challenges, and needs.
(http://unfccc.int/national_reports/non-annex_i_natcom/items/2979.php)
 National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) submitted to the UNFCCC:
Country context, key development and climate goals, historical climate conditions,
projected climate changes and sectoral impacts, priority adaptation needs and
activities, and funding needs. May be out of date, and will be replaced by National
Adaptation Plans (NAPs) in the future.
(http://unfccc.int/cooperation_support/least_developed_countries_portal/submitted
_napas/items/4585.php)
 Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Country Climate Trend
Analysis Factsheets: Summaries of historical climate trends over the past few
decades, climate projections, and potential implications for food security in various
countries. (http://chg.geog.ucsb.edu/data/trends/index.html)
Existing and planned  Adaptation Partnership: A review of existing and planned adaptation actions that
adaptation actions includes a summary of regional needs and priorities as well as country profiles that
cover country-specific adaptation needs and priorities and relevant policies and
strategic documents.
(http://www.adaptationpartnership.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=artic
le&id=4&Itemid=6)
Adaptation strategies,  Adaptation Learning Mechanism: A knowledge-sharing platform that hosts a wide
policies, and plans range of country-specific adaptation related information, including strategies,
policies, and plans. (http://www.adaptationlearning.net/)
DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN JAMAICA
Jamaica developed a national development plan called Vision 2030 Jamaica with input from multiple
ministries and stakeholders. Vision 2030 Jamaica is the “roadmap” for making Jamaica “the place of choice
to live, work, raise families and do business” and lays out more than a dozen development objectives.
Workshop participants focused on a subset of those objectives that are economically important and likely
to be sensitive to climate stressors. Working in small groups comprised of representatives from different
government ministries and from outside government, participants focused on tourism, agriculture, energy,
transportation, and water. They also identified dependencies among these sectors and their respective
development goals.
Next is to identify the inputs and enabling conditions necessary to achieve the development goal that has
been selected. Climate change will affect development through its impacts on specific inputs, not an entire
sector. Identifying those inputs enables understanding of the causal relationships between a specific stressor
and a key input, and then addressing that stressor through development initiatives. For example, the idea that
“climate change affects agriculture” is not actionable. However, the idea that “a shortened rainy season will
affect a particular variety of maize” indicates that the key issues are water availability and a specific crop
variety. In response, you might try to address the need for water early in the growing season, or look for a
shorter-season maize variety. Specific cause-and-effect relationships are easier to address than general
associations. These specific relationships will be further explored in the next stage of the framework.
Inputs7 may include physical inputs such as roads, natural inputs such as water, social inputs such as
institutions, human inputs such as labor, and economic inputs such as financial resources. The purpose of
identifying inputs is to determine what is needed to achieve development goals in order to later determine if
and how those inputs could be affected by climate (and non-climate) stressors. For instance, tourists often
visit small islands to enjoy beaches and snorkel or scuba dive along coral reefs. Increasing this kind of coastal
tourism may be a development goal for a particular country. Inputs for successful tourism include clean water,
reliable transportation, hotels and restaurants, and vibrant coral reefs and associated biodiversity. Some of
these inputs – like fish, corals, transportation infrastructure, and water resources – could be affected by
climate (and non-climate) stressors.
These inputs are shaped by broader political, economic, and social conditions, which we call enabling
conditions.8 Enabling conditions are elements of the sociopolitical environment that can affect whether
development goals are achieved, such as regulatory regimes or market mechanisms. Enabling conditions can
have a significant impact on a development initiative’s ability to support development goals. For instance,
7. The United Kingdom Department for International Development’s (DFID) livelihoods framework identifies five types
of capital: human, natural, financial, social, and physical. These categories align with the categories of inputs and enabling
conditions described in this document and facilitate understanding of the resources and capacities required to achieve
desired development outcomes. (DFID. 1999. Sustainable Livelihoods Guidance Sheets. DFID, London, UK. p. 5.)
8. Enabling conditions are sometimes referred to collectively as the enabling environment. These social, political, and
economic conditions are often governance-related and can play an important role in determining how inputs are used
and, thus, whether development goals can be achieved. Examples include legal and regulatory frameworks,
enforcement mechanisms for those frameworks, political stability, and accountability among stakeholders and
institutions (USAID. Forthcoming. Governing for Resilience: An Annex to the USAID Climate-Resilient Development
Framework.).
safeguarding coastal infrastructure requires enforcement of coastal zoning regulations. Informed decisions
about coastal development strategies, programs, or projects must include critical consideration of enabling
conditions such as the regulatory environment, willingness to enforce regulations, and enforcement capacity,
among other enabling conditions. Issues related to enabling conditions are addressed in greater detail in the
governance annex and the vulnerability assessment annex.
INPUTS TO KEY ECONOMIC SECTORS IN JAMAICA

Working in small groups, stakeholders identified important inputs for each key economic sector mentioned
in Vision 2030 Jamaica. They found that some “sectors” were actually inputs into other sectors. For
instance, transportation was identified as a key input for health services, manufacturing, and tourism. This
exercise helped to highlight shared inputs and underscore the relationships among sectors and between the
responsible ministries. A “Wordle” was produced to show the frequency with which inputs were identified
across the different groups. This is just one way to graphically show which inputs or resources are
identified most frequently; choose a method that suits your audience.
ENABLING CONDITIONS IN JAMAICA

The participants also identified important conditions that enable inputs to be used effectively. The central
theme of the workshop was to address the gaps in Jamaican policy to sufficiently address climate change.
Other, more specific governance and financial issues were also identified; these include the need for proper
legislation, effective zoning, and better enforcement of regulations. The Wordle (above) also includes the
enabling conditions that were identified at the workshop. Determining needed enabling conditions helped
to inform brainstorming of potential response options in later stages of the process. The importance of
planning and awareness helped guide the dialogue toward ways to improve these areas for climate-resilient
development.
2.1.2 IDENTIFY CLIMATE AND NON-CLIMATE STRESSORS
The second task is to identify climate and non-climate stressors that might affect the development strategy,
program, or project under consideration. Stressors directly and indirectly affect the inputs identified in the
previous subtask. Climate stressors could include changes in sea level, precipitation, temperature, or extreme
events, while non-climate stressors could include corruption, pollution, deforestation, and other existing
development challenges.
Climate stressors include climate variability (e.g., some years are marked by higher temperatures or longer dry
periods than other years) as well as climate change (e.g., average temperatures are anticipated to increase over
time). Thus, climate stressors can include differences in drought conditions that are experienced from year to
year, as well as changes in longer-term trends of drought frequency or severity. Extensive information is
available to identify climate stressors, including data and information on historical climate variability, recent
trends, and climate projections and anticipated impacts. The documents and sources listed in Exhibit 3
(page 11) can be used to inform the identification of climate stressors and to understand the potential impacts
of climate change. Other important sources of information include national weather services, agricultural
extension services, international scientific associations, peer-reviewed publications, global climate modeling
archives, local knowledge and observations,9 and more. Additional sources of climate information are listed in
the vulnerability assessment annex.
CLIMATE STRESSORS IN JAMAICA

Once participants had identified key inputs and enabling conditions, they began laying out the climate
stressors currently or potentially affecting each input. Temperatures are already increasing, and tropical
storms take a heavy toll. Looking ahead, participants noted that the labor force, an input for tourism, will
be increasingly affected by tropical storms and heat waves. Workers may lose access to their workplaces if
roads are damaged by storms. They may be injured or killed by storms, and their productivity and health
may be impacted by rising temperatures. Participants also noted that the marine and beach environment
will be increasingly affected by ocean acidification, tropical storms, and sea level rise.
Non-climate stressors are critical to consider because they directly affect the success of development
strategies, programs, and projects – in some cases dwarfing the impact of climate stressors. Addressing only
one set of stressors may be insufficient for achieving your overall objectives. Because most development
practitioners have extensive experience in assessing the impacts of non-climate stressors, we do not provide
comprehensive guidance here. However, climate and non-climate stressors may interact to create very serious
challenges, potentially magnifying the negative impacts of either type of stressor alone. For example, a city
might face increasingly intense rainfall, leading to more flooding, but it may also have storm sewers blocked
with trash. The best way to address the flooding problem quickly may be to address the non-climate stressor:
poorly maintained sewers. Yet increased rainfall intensity due to climate change may mean that even well-
maintained storm sewers are too small to manage current or anticipated flooding events.
9. Although local knowledge and observations can provide valuable insights, they can be unreliable and should be
cross-referenced with information from other sources.
NON-CLIMATE STRESSORS IN JAMAICA
The workshop participants also identified a set of non-climate stressors adversely affecting the
achievement of Jamaica’s development objectives. These stressors included crime and violence, lack of
enforcement of regulations, pollution, and economic shocks. Participants recognized that addressing both
the climate and non-climate stressors will be important for achieving their overall development objectives.
Flooded areas around Bangkok, Thailand, October 24, 2011.10
The final task in the scoping stage is to brainstorm the needs and opportunities for addressing the various
stresses affecting inputs and undermining development. In most cases, needs identified in the scoping stage
should be examined in greater detail to flesh them out and ensure that actions taken to meet these needs will
adequately resolve the issues caused by the stressors. In some cases, a more detailed climate vulnerability
assessment will be needed; in others, an approach or potential solution may be clear, and the task of tailoring
the solution to local circumstances will be simpler. In either case, the next stage – assessment – is the stage at
which you will develop a more detailed understanding of problems and solutions.
2.2 ASSESS
In the assessment stage, you will develop a deeper understanding of the conditions that
contribute to the vulnerability of key inputs identified in the scoping stage as well as the
broader system11 of concern. Vulnerability is the degree to which something or someone
can be harmed by or cope with a stressor. The vulnerability of a system or resource is
comprised of three elements: exposure to a stressor, sensitivity to that stressor, and adaptive
capacity to respond to that stressor (see the Key Definitions Box for definitions).
10. Source: Wikimedia Commons, 2011. Available:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Defense.gov_photo_essay_111024-M-ZN194-140.jpg.
11. Systems are the individuals, households, businesses, public service providers, government bodies, and other
organizations that use and supply inputs to produce development goals. (USAID. Forthcoming. Climate Change
Vulnerability Assessment: An Annex to the USAID Climate-Resilient Development Framework.)
Vulnerability assessments generally serve two purposes: (1) to determine what sectors or regions may be most
vulnerable to inform strategy development, and/or (2) to understand the sources of vulnerability for a
particular strategy, policy, program, or project. The former might allow you to decide whether to prioritize
the tourism or agriculture sector, or to work in a coastal community or an inland location. The latter might
help you understand how and why a sector, region, or population is vulnerable in order to design
interventions to reduce that vulnerability. For example, if crops are failing in a specific community, a
vulnerability assessment can tell you whether the problem is exposure to droughts, sensitivity of crops to heat
or salinity, lack of adaptive capacity of farmers to anticipate or respond to these stressors, or some
combination of these factors. This helps you to tailor actions to address the problem effectively.
This task can be challenging given uncertainties about exactly how climate will change in the future. By
focusing on the information you need to assess the inputs, conditions identified in the scoping stage, and the
timescale of climate information needed to inform decision-making, considerable uncertainty can be removed.
Projections for rainfall at the end of the century may vary widely, but for a farmer deciding what to plant next
season, a forecast of next season’s rains is far more relevant and can be provided more readily.
The scope and level of detail of a vulnerability assessment should depend upon the type of decision that
needs to be made about the best way to achieve a development goal or respond to climate and non-climate
stressors that put that development goal at risk. It is also important to consider practical aspects related to the
development strategy, program, or project in order to properly define the appropriate level of analytic effort.
While practical considerations are treated in more detail in the vulnerability assessment annex, a few key
questions for illustrative purposes include:
 Who is the intended audience for the assessment?
 What level of detail and type of information are necessary to make the decision the assessment is
supporting?
 How much time is available for the assessment?
 What resources and capacities (e.g., budget, technical expertise, political capital) are available?
It is also important to identify which decisions are being made that could be affected by the assessment
results, and what opportunities exist for influence, integration, or leveraging of results. Is somebody making a
decision whose outcome could be improved by considering climate risks? What is the timeframe of that
decision – for how long will the decision have consequences? Most farmers’ planting decisions are relevant
for a season, while a decision about building a dam has implications for many decades. Examining the
political and policy contexts for opportunities may help narrow the range of potential adaptation options
considered in the design stage and, consequently, determine the scope of analytical activities necessary in the
assessment stage. For example, if budget resources of $10 million are available where previously only $10,000
was available, a very different range of adaptation options may need to be considered, requiring a different
level of analytical effort. Furthermore, windows of opportunity for integrating climate into development
decisions may arise during capital improvement plan updates, management plan revisions, and other periodic
processes. Much of this information will have been provided during the scoping stage.
Information for a vulnerability assessment can be obtained through a number of methods including desk
studies, consultations, workshops, technical analyses, field visits, and modeling. The method(s) should be
selected depending on the information required, and resource and time availability.
KEY DEFINITIONS
Vulnerability is the degree to which something can be harmed by or cope with stressors such as those
caused by climate change. It is generally described as a function of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive
capacity.
Exposure is the extent to which something is subject to a stressor. For example, flooding is a climate
stressor that can affect infrastructure. Infrastructure built in a floodplain is exposed to this stressor, but
infrastructure built at higher elevations is not exposed to flooding.
Sensitivity is the extent to which something will change if it is exposed to a stressor. For example,
agricultural crops are sensitive to increased night-time temperatures. However, some plants will fail at
lower temperatures and are thus more sensitive to this climate stressor than others. Crop choice can reduce
an individual farmer’s sensitivity to increased temperatures. Considering the example of infrastructure in a
floodplain, two buildings in the floodplain may both be exposed, but one built on stilts or designed to
allow water to flow through would be less sensitive.
Adaptive capacity is the “combination of the strengths, attributes, and resources available to an
individual, community, society, or organization that can be used to prepare for and undertake actions to
reduce adverse impacts, moderate harm, or exploit beneficial opportunities.”* Adaptive capacity is
fundamentally about the ability of an affected system to change in response to climate stressors. This could
be about the capacity of an ecosystem to adapt to warmer temperatures, but it is more often understood in
terms of people, businesses, and their communities. In particular, highly networked and wealthier
communities often have more adaptive capacity than isolated and poorer communities.
*IPCC. 2012. Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York. p. 556.
The vulnerability assessment annex (forthcoming) discusses the different types of methods, their costs and
benefits, and other considerations for choosing a method. The annex also presents examples of questions that
can help to assess exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity for a number of key development sectors.
2.3 DESIGN
The design stage focuses on identifying actions that can reduce vulnerabilities determined in
the scoping and assessment stages. This may include actions to reduce climate vulnerability
or more traditional development actions to reduce the impacts of non-climate stressors.
Climate-resilient development design includes four steps: (1) identifying adaptation options,
(2) selecting evaluation criteria, (3) evaluating options, and (4) selecting a course of action.
2.3.1 IDENTIFY ADAPTATION OPTIONS

A number of approaches may be used to identify adaptation options, including consulting stakeholders,
engaging informed experts, and drawing on the experience of other organizations or jurisdictions that have
faced similar problems. Stakeholders are a good source of options, and may have already identified needs and
opportunities during the scoping stage that can be expanded upon. Stakeholders can also contribute
knowledge about which options are locally appropriate, and provide insight into which options they would
prefer and champion. Experts are another common source of options. They often have extensive experience
working in and across specific environments, geographies, or jurisdictions that give them insight into how to
address specific vulnerabilities. Best practices and lessons learned by other organizations or jurisdictions can
be identified through a literature review, a survey of targeted jurisdictions, or interviews with knowledgeable
individuals.
Thinking broadly about adaptation approaches can facilitate the identification of creative adaptation options
that might otherwise never be considered. Climate impacts pose a range of risks, and not all of these risks can
be managed or managed in the same way. The best options are the ones that most effectively and efficiently
address the risk. In some cases, you may need to build the capacity of key actors to access and use
information. In others, there may be policy obstacles that need to be removed before effective action can be
taken. In still others, a high-value asset must be protected at all cost, requiring an intervention such as a
seawall to protect a coastal city. Elsewhere, ecosystem restoration might be the most effective option.
Generally speaking, however, it is important to consider a combination of options.
USAID’s Climate Change and Development Strategy prioritizes adaptation results in three broad areas, which
can be helpful for identifying adaptation options to achieve each result:
1. Improving access to science and analysis for decision-making, such that:

a. Supply of relevant climate data and predictions, analysis, and decision support tools is improved
b. Stakeholders have better access to climate data and predictions, analysis, and decision support tools
c. Relevant institutions have greater capacity to use and analyze climate data and predictions, analysis, and
decision support tools
2. Establishing effective governance systems for adaptation, such that:
a. Participation of public, civil society, and private sectors in climate change adaptation policy and action is
increased
b. Capacity of public institutions to integrate climate change adaptation into policy and administration is
strengthened
c. Coordination by government institutions on climate change adaptation policy is improved
3. Identifying and taking actions that increase climate resilience, such that:
a. Adaptation actions are piloted and their effectiveness is tested
b. Information about effective adaptation actions is communicated
c. Barriers to widespread adoption of effective adaptation actions are reduced
A range of hard (i.e., physical) and soft (i.e., institutional) actions can be used across these categories, and
each type has its pros and cons. Hard approaches carry higher risk because they can be costly both upfront
and through operations and maintenance requirements, technically complex, damaging to the natural
environment, and hard to reverse. On the positive side, however, they can be very effective if designed
properly, and are highly visible, which is often favored by locals and donors. Another concern with hard
approaches, like a levee, is that they can result in development in areas that are highly exposed when an
extreme event eventually results in conditions that exceed the structure’s threshold. Soft approaches like
reforming existing policies and regulations, and building capacity for improved information, resource
management, and planning can be challenging because they take time and commitment to see through, may
be subject to ineffective political processes, and depend on individuals in government who may not remain in
their positions long enough to have an impact. On the positive side, soft approaches can be more sustainable
and flexible, can have a wide impact, and may be less costly than hard approaches.
ADAPTATION APPROACHES
Sustain losses: Take no adaptation action. Sustaining losses may be appropriate when the existing system
is capable of dealing with climate impacts, when inputs likely to be affected are not worth sustaining, or
when costs of protection are prohibitive. Even if immediate action is not deemed necessary, continued
monitoring of climate and other factors affecting vulnerability can help to ensure that adaptation actions
are taken if and when needed.
Cope: Better manage climate stressors that cannot be avoided. Examples include improving early warning
systems and disaster preparedness.
Share losses: Reduce vulnerability by reducing sensitivity or increasing adaptive capacity through, for
instance, water sharing or insurance programs.
Adjust: Modify behavior or practices in response to climate stressors. Examples include incentivizing
rainwater harvesting and water conservation or switching to flood-, drought-, or saline-resistant crop
varieties.
Reduce the impact: Reduce exposure to a climate stressor. For instance, diverting rainwater that can
cause floods can help to decrease the potential impact of heavy rains.
Defend, armor, and protect: Modify an input. Examples include constructing flood channels,
embankments, and seawalls to defend coastal areas from inundation due to sea level rise or elevating
houses to decrease the impact of floods.
Relocate: Move inputs such as settlements, infrastructure, or crop and grazing lands. This approach takes
a longer-term view to adaptation, and the feasibility of this option can vary dramatically based on
geographical, political, financial, technological, and social constraints.
Research: Develop new strategies and technologies, such as water reuse or desalination technologies.
In most cases, a combination of adaptation approaches will be needed. In the example of coastal
agriculture under threat from sea level rise and storms, implementing a set of adaptation options might
involve sharing losses through crop insurance, adjusting by diversifying livelihood activities into less
climate-sensitive sectors, defending through sea walls, and conducting research to identify and/or develop
saline-tolerant crops. This set of approaches will likely reduce vulnerability better than any individual
approach.
IDENTIFYING ADAPTATION OPTIONS IN JAMAICA
Participants agreed that an important action was to create a national climate policy to guide and coordinate
domestic and development partner investments related to climate change. During the workshop,
participants identified sequences of actions needed to enable effective adaptation; for example, changes in
zoning codes are required for changes in land use. They also identified linkages and dependencies among
important sectors, with the intention of continuing to work in multi-disciplinary teams. Participants also
recommended that the national policy should include an overarching policy that sets national aims, and
revisions to the policies that govern key economic sectors to embed climate change adaptation and
greenhouse gas emission reductions there. Jamaica’s Ministry of Water, Land, Environment, and Climate
Change began developing a policy framework immediately after the workshop concluded; and the draft
policy was presented to the cabinet in October 2013.
Participants also identified a need for better weather and
climate information tailored to the needs of decision makers in
vulnerable sectors. USAID, the Climate Services Partnership,
and the Meteorological Service of Jamaica formed a working
group with Jamaica’s Agricultural Extension Service. The
working group is developing a drought forecast tool (the
contribution of the meteorological service and Columbia
University’s International Research Institute for Climate and
Society) and tools to help farmers know what to plant, how to
manage water, and how to manage pests in dry years (the agricultural extension service’s contribution).
Together, farmers should be better equipped to manage a key climate stressor that undermines productivity
in the agriculture sector.
It is also important to consider actions that may improve the enabling environment within which other
climate-resilient development activities are occurring. For instance, improving coordination between
institutions or promoting integration across different economic sectors can help to avoid maladaptation and
unintended consequences arising from uncoordinated actions by one institution or sector.
2.3.2 SELECT CRITERIA, ANALYZE OPTIONS, AND SELECT A COURSE OF ACTION

The process of identifying adaptation actions is likely to yield many more options than a development
practitioner can possibly implement. It is important to analyze options according to a set of agreed criteria
that reflect the key considerations relevant to your decision-making context, and apply these criteria to inform
choices in a systematic and strategic way.12 Below, we describe some criteria for evaluating options. The first
three – effectiveness, feasibility, and cost – are likely to be useful in any context. The next five may be useful
12. Note that the multi-criteria analysis proposed here is not the only way to analyze adaptation options. Traditional
cost-benefit analyses, triple bottom line assessments, classic decision analysis/decision trees, and other techniques may
be more appropriate in a particular context. The 2007 USAID guidance, Adapting to Climate Variability and Change: A
Guidance Manual for Development Planning covers this topic on pages 15-17 in “Step 3: Conduct Analysis” (see
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADJ990.pdf). USAID is also developing a short annex on choosing among options
(USAID. Forthcoming. Evaluating Adaptation Options: An Annex to the USAID Climate-Resilient Development
Framework).
depending on the priorities of those weighing the options, or to help select among options of similar
effectiveness, feasibility, and cost. This list of criteria is suggestive, not comprehensive.
 Effectiveness – How well does the option reduce the specific climate risks of concern and generate the
primary benefit sought (e.g., damages reduced, costs avoided, lives saved) over an appropriate time
horizon? How well does it address the applicable climate-related vulnerabilities (e.g., reduce exposure
and/or sensitivity, and/or increase adaptive capacity)? Does the option align with and promote overall
development goals?
 Feasibility – Is there sufficient technical and financial capacity, political support, and cultural acceptance
to implement the option? Is the option relatively straightforward to implement and maintain from a
technical perspective (e.g., Is an infrastructure solution relatively easy to build and operate)? Will key
institutional actors and stakeholders support the action (e.g., Will necessary zoning regulations be enacted
and enforced)? Is this an activity that can be funded with resources available for development assistance?
 Cost – What are the costs to implement the option, when considering both initial costs and longer-term
costs of operation and maintenance?
 Unintended consequences – To what extent are there costs and other unintended negative consequences
associated with the option, beyond the direct expense of its implementation? For example, construction of
a seawall to protect communities against sea level rise may adversely impact the near-shore coastal
ecosystem or harm local fisheries.
 Additional benefits – To what extent might an option provide significant co-benefits, in addition to
reducing the specific climate-related risk of concern? For example, building a dam and associated reservoir
may be an option to enhance water supply reliability for a key urban or agricultural region, given the
increased variability of rainfall and increased risk of prolonged drought. However, the dam may also
provide other benefits, such as the potential to generate hydropower, improve downstream flood
protection, or develop lake-based tourism and recreational sectors.13
 Implementation timing – How long will it take to develop and implement the option? Can the option be
implemented within relevant planning/funding/political timelines? Will the option yield benefits within the
implementation timeframe?
 Flexibility – How easily can adjustments be made in response to evolving conditions and/or information?
Are there incremental steps that can be taken (e.g., Would a dam be designed and constructed such that its
height can be increased cost-effectively in the future, if and when changing climate conditions indicate
more water storage or flood protection is needed)? Note that a flexible option may sacrifice optimality to
some degree. Flexibility may be an especially important consideration for options that are intended to be
long-lived, are relatively costly, and/or have irreversible consequences.
 Robustness – Does the option perform well under a wide range of possible climate futures? It may be
relatively costly to select an option that is more robust, so the incremental cost of additional robustness
may need to be taken into consideration.
13. In this example, the dam might also generate unintended costs, such as disrupting riparian and aquatic ecosystems.
Any such costs should be considered along with the benefits the dam might provide.
IDENTIFYING AND ANALYZING ADAPTATION OPTIONS FOR ILOILO, PHILIPPINES
In July 2012, a team of experts applied the climate-resilient development framework in an assessment of
water security and climate issues in the municipality of Iloilo, Philippines and the upstream Tigum-Aganan
watershed.* The Metro Iloilo area faces significant vulnerability to intense flooding events, agricultural and
consumptive water scarcity, and poor water quality – issues anticipated to worsen under climate change. The
objectives of this assessment were to (1) identify current and future water security and climate risks to Iloilo’s
economic growth, (2) engage local partners in the assessment and lay a foundation for building capacity and
ownership of potential solutions, and 3) identify and analyze a set of options for addressing these risks. The
technical team conducted a desktop review; consulted with stakeholders at the national, regional, provincial,
municipal, barangay (i.e., district or neighborhood), and household levels; and conducted site visits to existing
water infrastructure, ongoing water projects, reforestation projects, private and government housing
developments, and commercial developments.
Based on their analysis, the technical team proposed 22 preliminary adaptation options for the Metro Iloilo
community and funding partners to consider to address both climate and non-climate stressors. Each option
was described and then assessed through four criteria, rated low, medium, or high: (1) the effectiveness of the
option with regard to addressing stressors on water security under current conditions as well as under climate
change; (2) the feasibility of the option according to technical, data, financing, policy, or social considerations;
(3) the affordability of the option, primarily in financial terms, but also social and environmental costs when
appropriate; and (4) the implementation timing, measured as short-, medium-, or long-term.
A color-coded table was used to allow a quick
comparison and discussion. Red indicated low scores
based on the average of the four assessment criteria,
yellow indicated medium scores, and green indicated
high scores. Examples of high-scoring
recommendations included expanding potable water
supply options by developing community-based water
projects, such as treatment of community wells or
rainwater harvesting, and addressing the immediate
challenges associated with the lack of sanitation through
an information and education campaign. Options that
scored lower included improving knowledge
management through standardized procedures for data
collection, storage, and quality across the monitoring
network for water supply, quality, and flooding, as well
as development of a clearinghouse for information on the Iloilo and Tigum-Aganan watersheds.
*USAID. 2013. An Assessment of Water Security, Development, and Climate Change in Iloilo, Philippines and the Tigum-Aganan
Watershed. USAID, Washington, DC. Available:
http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/WaterSecurityIloilo_Final_March_2013.pdf.
After identifying specific criteria, they should be used to evaluate adaptation options. Such an evaluation can
be qualitative or quantitative. Each criterion can be evaluated in a descriptive textual format or scored based
on a systematic or quantitative method such as green, yellow, or red; high, medium, or low; or ranking scores
from 1 to 5. Scoring can be conducted as part of a participatory exercise with stakeholders or as an expert-
driven evaluation. However you present criteria and scores to stakeholders, it is important to be transparent
about which factors will drive a decision among options. Application of criteria can be carried out as a quick
analysis of options based on inputs from experts and stakeholders or as a more detailed analysis such as cost-
benefit analysis, quantitative risk assessment, or a feasibility study. The level of effort devoted to the analysis
of options should be consistent with the scale of the decision, the size of the investment, and time and
resource constraints, among other factors.
2.4 IMPLEMENT AND MANAGE

Implementation focuses on putting the actions that were selected at the design stage into
practice. Implementation builds upon established project management practices because
including climate stressors does not fundamentally alter the nature or challenge of
implementation.
However, a key difference from how implementation may have been carried out in the
past is that the climate is continuing to change even as implementation occurs. One way to address this is
through a flexible, adaptive approach to implementation and management that incorporates new information
and learning, responds to shifting conditions, and takes advantage of new opportunities that increase the
likelihood of success.
Climate stressors introduce additional dynamic elements of changing information and impacts that affect how
monitoring systems are designed. Baseline climate information and a monitoring and evaluation
implementation plan should be established to later determine if actions are performing as designed and if not,
whether poor performance is a result of changing climate conditions or the implementation effort. For these
reasons, the evaluate and adjust stage described below is particularly important. The implement and manage
stage should be part of a continuous process where the performance of an adaptation action, as well as
changes in climate stressors, are proactively monitored to support an iterative process of implement/manage
and evaluate/adjust.
2.5 EVALUATE AND ADJUST

Evaluation focuses on assessing the results of strategy, program, or project
implementation to improve performance, ensure accountability, and promote learning.
Generally, evaluation should not be done very differently than in a conventional
development approach. The framework presented in this document can be used to
produce the elements of a logical framework; each step or layer in the logical framework
can be used to develop indicators and targets. There should be direct feedback to the
implementation stage to improve outputs and outcomes of any particular action, and also possibly to the
design stage.
Climate change poses some additional challenges for evaluation. Specifically, evaluation should consider the
performance of a strategy, program, or project under changing climate conditions, e.g., assessing whether
observed climate change, variability, or extreme events have affected the performance and fulfillment of goals.
Critically distinguishing between the different reasons for poor performance – such as a design flaw,
substandard project implementation, an unpredictable climate surprise, or poor projections of climate
stressors – could yield very different potential adjustments for improving project performance. A more
proactive monitoring program may be required to gather the kinds of information needed to manage
adaptively as suggested above. Uncertainties about how climate will change and the need for adaptive
management make it particularly important to give special consideration to implementation and evaluation
upfront.
In addition, in climate-resilient development, there is the important issue of understanding how to attribute
performance to make important adjustments. Is performance attributable solely to an adaptation action, or is
success (or failure) attributable to other factors as well? For instance, a 2006 USAID case study in La Ceiba,
Honduras found that the effectiveness of levees to protect against floods was undermined by weak land
tenure and a lack of housing, which led poor, homeless people to locate their homes in “free” land in the
flood zone between the river and the levees.14 Careful analysis will be important so adjustments to climate-
resilient development strategies appropriately account for changing development circumstances, changing
climate conditions, and an evolving understanding of the causal factors of project performance and impact.
14. Stratus Consulting. 2006. Honduras Pilot Study Report: Climate Change and Coastal Resources and Flood Planning
in La Ceiba. Final Report. USAID, Washington, DC.
3. NEXT STEPS
The framework described in this document is based on lessons learned while enabling climate-resilient
development planning in USAID partner countries. The framework is intended to engage country partners in
a stakeholder-driven process to co-design actions that protect development investments from climate risks.
We view this as a living document. We welcome comments and suggestions and will update the framework
periodically.
In the coming months, USAID plans to release annexes to this framework that will take the reader into more
detail on specific topics. Planned annexes include:
 Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
 Evaluating Adaptation Options
 Climate Change and Water
 Climate Change and Coastal Zones
 Governing for Resilience
 Working with Marginal Populations
 Climate Change and Conflict
For further information, to provide comments, or to obtain training materials or case studies related to this
framework, please contact USAID’s Global Climate Change Office at climatechange@usaid.gov.
APPENDIX A – GLOSSARY
Adaptation is “the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to moderate
harm or exploit beneficial opportunities.”15 In natural systems, adaptation is a reaction to an actual change in
climate since ecosystems cannot anticipate or plan for climate change.16 Adaptation actions seek to enhance
resilience and reduce climate vulnerability in the near- and long-term by decreasing exposure or sensitivity, or
by increasing adaptive capacity.
Adaptive capacity is the “combination of the strengths, attributes, and resources available to an individual,
community, society, or organization that can be used to prepare for and undertake actions to reduce adverse
impacts, moderate harm, or exploit beneficial opportunities.”17 The factors that can increase adaptive capacity
include financial resources, access to technology, information, skills, infrastructure, effective institutions, and
equity.18
Climate refers to long-term weather conditions, in terms of mean conditions (e.g., average temperature and
precipitation in July) and variability (e.g., how often monsoons occur, highest precipitation amounts), over a
certain time period in a given area. The World Meteorological Organization uses 30 years of observations to
determine climate.19 Climate varies from place to place as well as over time. In simple terms, “climate is what
you expect, weather is what you get.”
Climate change is the persistent change in climate, including the mean state and/or expected variability,
over decades or longer.20
Climate impacts are the effects on natural and human systems of climate variability and climate change.
Climate projections are potential future climate conditions (e.g., higher sea levels, warmer temperatures,
wetter or drier rainy seasons). These are typically generated from climate models. Climate projections may be
accompanied by assumptions about change in socioeconomic conditions (e.g., income, technology,
greenhouse gas emissions).
Climate resilience is the capacity of a system to “anticipate, absorb, accommodate, or recover from the
effects of a hazardous event in a timely and efficient manner, including through ensuring the preservation,
restoration, or improvement of its essential basic structures and functions.”21 Applied to social systems,
15. IPCC. 2012. Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. IPCC.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York. p. 582.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. Equity has to do with the degree to which access to resources is evenly distributed among populations within a
society, or there is marginalization or exclusion of different sectors of the population (e.g., women, racial, ethnic, or
religious minorities).
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid.
resilience is the capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from significant stressors with
minimum damage to social well-being, the economy, and the environment. Essentially, the more resilient a
system (e.g., ecosystem, village, country) is, the less vulnerable it is to climate change (and climate variability
such as extreme events).
Climate stressors are climate factors that can affect the functioning of a system. For example, rising
temperatures and greater rainfall variability may affect agricultural productivity, with implications for food
security. Climate stressors can also limit the potential success of development interventions.
Climate variability is variations in climate, including the normal highs and lows, wet and dry periods, hot
and cool periods, and extreme values. It can refer to day-to-day variability (e.g., heat wave). It can also refer to
year-to-year variability (e.g., long-term dry or wet period). It can even refer to decadal scale variability. But,
variability over a multi-decadal scale can be thought of as climate change. A key point is that even within a
changing climate, there is still climate variability. So, next year could be cooler than this year. That does not
mean the climate is cooling, because over time, average temperatures are rising.
Enabling conditions are components of the sociopolitical environment that affect development goals, such
as legal or regulatory regimes, government or private sector corruption, political stability, legal rights, effective
market mechanisms, and educational opportunities. Enabling conditions make up the broader political, social,
and economic conditions that shape the use of inputs. Enabling conditions include the institutional factors
that affect adaptive capacity.
Exposure is the extent to which something is subject to a climate stressor; in other words, whether it is in
harm’s way. Exposure is defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as the “presence
of people; livelihoods; environmental services and resources; infrastructure; or economic, social, or cultural
assets in places that could be adversely affected”22 by a climate stressor.
Inputs are the factors that support or enable development. Inputs include financing, technology, training,
and information.
Mainstreaming refers to the integration of climate stressors into existing planning and decision-making
processes. It means that existing institutions and processes can include climate change as an additional
consideration. For example, strategic planning would not only account for changes in population, economic
conditions, and trade patterns, etc., but also changes in climate.
Non-climate stressors are development challenges such as environmental degradation, corruption,

population growth, and pollution that can harm the functioning of a system, thus hindering the achievement
of development goals.
Sensitivity is the extent to which something will be positively or negatively affected if it is exposed to a
climate stressor.23 For example, a building along the coast that is elevated will be less sensitive to a storm
surge than a building that is not elevated. Some crops are more likely to wilt in extreme heat than other crops
and thus are more sensitive to heat.
22. Ibid.
23. IPCC. 2007. Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland. p. 104.
Vulnerability to climate change is the “propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected”24 by climate
stressors. It is a function of a system’s exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The more exposed or
sensitive a system is to climate change (or climate variability, including extreme events), the more vulnerable it
will be. The greater the adaptive capacity of a system or society (e.g., the wealthier, better organized it is), in
general, the less vulnerable it will be.
Weather is the state of the atmosphere in a given place at a given time, and refers to the actual temperature,
wind speed and direction, the amount and form of precipitation (e.g., rain, snow, hail), and cloudiness.
Examples include wind speeds this morning, rainfall this spring, and temperatures in May. A compilation of
weather data over 30 years is typically used to determine climate (e.g., the average temperature and
precipitation).
24. IPCC. 2012. Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. IPCC.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York. p. 582.
APPENDIX B – SAMPLE DIRECT
AND INDIRECT CLIMATE
IMPACTS BY SECTOR
Indirect
Direct
Sector (caused by a sequence of changes linked to
(closely connected to climate change)
climate change)
Agriculture  Reduced yields  Reduced nutrition
 Increased crop pests and livestock  Reduced incomes
disease  Food insecurity
 Decreased soil fertility  Migration
 Heat stress for field workers  Reduced access to markets
Disadvantaged/  More time spent collecting water  Food insecurity
marginalized  Less able to escape floods/storms  Reduced time for schooling
groups  Heat stroke from hard labor  Reduced income
Health  Extreme weather events such as  Damage to health infrastructure and human
droughts, floods, typhoons, heat morbidity/mortality due to disasters
waves, and hurricanes threaten  Shifting and expansion of disease transmission zones,
human life altered seasonality, and increased activity of vectors
 Rising temperatures increase risk of that transmit diseases like malaria, dengue fever, and
heat stress yellow fever
 Rising water temperatures can  Increases in plankton blooms that feed vibrio cholera,
enable spread of waterborne leading to greater incidence of cholera
diseases  Decreased yields of staple food crops such as corn
and rice, leading to increases in malnutrition and
under-nutrition
 Decreased water quality and quantity, which can
compromise sanitation efforts and increase the
incidence of diarrhea
 Increased ground level ozone, which may adversely
impact air quality, especially in urban settings
Humanitarian  Death from droughts and floods  Diminished economic growth
assistance/  Health impacts from heat waves  Reduced food security
disasters  Infrastructure destruction from  Increased human population migrations
storms
A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE

29
Indirect
Direct
Sector (caused by a sequence of changes linked to
(closely connected to climate change)
climate change)
Infrastructure  Damaged infrastructure for energy,  Lost productivity due to disruptions in piped water
transportation, water resources, and sewerage services if infrastructure is damaged
communications, and other sectors  Higher operating costs and/or shorter lifetime of
from extreme climate events water systems, and potential for rising water prices
 Inundation of infrastructure from sea  Loss of transportation system efficiency
level rise  Electricity blackouts/brownouts
 Damage to paved roads and rail from
excess heat
Natural  Increased soil erosion  Agricultural expansion encroachment
resources  Shifting habitat suitability  Pressure from human migration
management  Specialist species loss/migration  Land use/human/animal conflicts
 Coral harm (warmer/more acidic  Water pollution due to flood/drought
water)
Water  Droughts/floods  Reduced agricultural output
 Drinking water contamination from  Reduced food security
flooded sanitation systems  Water-use conflicts
 Saltwater intrusion  Spread of waterborne diseases if treatment systems
 Changing inputs to water storage fail or flooding occurs
due to changes in volume and timing  Displacement of populations if water resources shift
of rainfall, or surface and or are impaired
groundwater flows  Increased travel distances to collect water if supplies
 Increased evaporative losses as are no longer safe and productive
temperature rises  Unhygienic conditions in the event of storms or
flooding
U.S. Agency for International Development
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20523
Tel: (202) 712-0000
Fax: (202) 216-3524
www.usaid.gov
2CLIMATE-RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT: A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE

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CLIMATE-RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT

A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING

Contact: USAID Global Climate Change Office, climatechange@usaid.gov

Contact: USAID Global Climate Change Office, climatechange@usaid.gov

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................. XIII

1.2 What Is Different about Climate-Resilient Development? ......................................................... 2

1.4 Who Should Use this Framework? .................................................................................................. 7

2. THE FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................... 8

2.1 Scope ....................................................................................................................................................... 9

2.1.1 Frame the Planning Process .............................................................................................10

2.1.2 Identify Climate and Non-Climate Stressors ...............................................................14

2.3.1 Identify Adaptation Options.............................................................................................17

2.4 Implement and Manage......................................................................................................................23

2.5 Evaluate and Adjust ............................................................................................................................ 23

3. NEXT STEPS ........................................................................................................ 25

APPENDIX A – GLOSSARY .......................................................................................... 26

APPENDIX B – SAMPLE DIRECT AND INDIRECT CLIMATE IMPACTS BY

CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy

In developing the framework, we worked under the following assumptions:

1.1 WHY DOES CLIMATE CHANGE MATTER IN COUNTRIES

1.2 WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT CLIMATE-RESILIENT

1.3 HOW DOES THIS FRAMEWORK RELATE TO OTHER USAID

EXHIBIT 1. USAID’S CLIMATE-RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK.

EXHIBIT 2. COMPANION DOCUMENTS TO THE USAID CLIMATE-RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT

FRAMEWORK IN PRACTICE IN JAMAICA

2.1.1 FRAME THE PLANNING PROCESS

INPUTS TO KEY ECONOMIC SECTORS IN JAMAICA

ENABLING CONDITIONS IN JAMAICA

CLIMATE STRESSORS IN JAMAICA

Flooded areas around Bangkok, Thailand, October 24, 2011.10

10. Source: Wikimedia Commons, 2011. Available:

 Who is the intended audience for the assessment?

2.3.1 IDENTIFY ADAPTATION OPTIONS

1. Improving access to science and analysis for decision-making, such that:

2.3.2 SELECT CRITERIA, ANALYZE OPTIONS, AND SELECT A COURSE OF ACTION

2.4 IMPLEMENT AND MANAGE

2.5 EVALUATE AND ADJUST

Non-climate stressors are development challenges such as environmental degradation, corruption,

A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE

2CLIMATE-RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT: A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE

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